Westeros

Westeros is a place that features in A Song of Ice and Fire.

History

Westeros

A human ethnic group from Essos, the First Men, invades Westeros by crossing the Arm of Dorne, bearing weapons of bronze. In a futile attempt to end the invasion, the children use the hammer of the waters to shatter the land bridge, creating the Broken Arm and the island chain known as the Stepstones. The First Men are more numerous, larger, stronger, and more technologically advanced than the children, who try to resist the invaders using their magic and obsidian weapons. It proves unsuccessful, however, and the First Men gradually push deeper and deeper into Westeros, establishing hundreds of petty kingdoms.

After years of warfare, the First Men and children of the forest come to a standstill and finally agree to a peaceful coexistence, signing the Pact on the Isle of Faces. This pact gives the First Men dominion over the open lands and lets the children keep control over the forested areas. In time, the First Men adopt the worship of the old gods of the forest.

An era during the history of Westeros, which would be named so later for the great men and women who live in the years of peace and prosperity following the forging of the Pact. The Pact endures for nearly four thousand years, and in that time, the children of the forest and the First Men grow closer. In time, the First Men set aside many of their cultural differences to embrace the ways and customs of the children of the forest. With the exception of the Drowned God of the Iron Islands and the Lady of the Waves and Lord of the Skies of the Three Sisters, the gods of the children become those of the First Men. Many of the noble houses of Westeros today trace their lineage back to the Age of Heroes. This was the time when grand historical figures are said to have lived, such as Brandon the Builder, founder of House Stark in the north; Lann the Clever, founder of House Lannister, who winkles Casterly Rock from the Casterlys in the westerlands; or Garth the Gardener, founder of House Gardener in the Reach. Also during this the Storm Kings of House Durrandon arise in the stormlands—a line with figures such as the founding Durran Godsgrief, supposed builder of Storm's End—and the Grey King rules the ironborn of the Iron Islands.

Overview

Westeros's climate shifts from arid and dry desert climate in the furthest south to cold and harsh winters in the north and icy wasteland in the Lands of Always Winter in the farthest north. Westeros and Essos both experience extremely long seasons of varying length, usually lasting at least a couple of years each. The maesters try to predict the length of the seasons, monitoring the temperature and days length, to advise on when to plant and when to harvest and how much food to store. However, given the random nature of the seasons, this is not something that can be relied on.

The continent is home to the Seven Kingdoms, also known as "the Realm" or the "Sunset Kingdom", located to the south side of the Wall, a massive man-made ice wall allegedly fused with magic 700 feet in height and spanning east–west for 300 miles from coast to coast. The Seven Kingdoms are further divided into the so-called "North" and "South" by a swamp-rich isthmus called the Neck. The land north of the Wall still makes up a large chunk of Westeros, but remains largely unmapped and unexplored, especially the ice field region north and west of a massive mountain range called the Frostfangs, which marks the farthest geographic limit of human settlements.

Locations in Westeros included:

• King's Landing :
• Oldtown :
• Lannisport :
• Gulltown :
• White Harbor :

The northernmost region of Westeros, the lands beyond the Wall stretch north to the lands past the edge of the known map, known as the Land of Always Winter. For the most part it is covered by the haunted forest and comprised of many lakes and rivers, and it shelters strange beasts among the mountains of the Frostfangs. The far north presents an extremely harsh climate, allowing only small numbers of free folk in small villages, in those primarily wild and uncharted lands.

Creatures native to Westeros included:

• Dragon :
• Kraken :
• Direwolf :
• Aurochs :

Races that inhabited Westeros included:

• Children of the Forest :
• Giants :
• White Walkers :
• Humans :

Organizations that existed in Westeros included:

• Night's Watch :
• Drowned Men :
• Faceless Men :
• Golden Company :
• Kingswood Brotherhood :

Inhabitants

• Tyrion Lannister :
• Jon Snow :
• Daenerys Targaryen :
• Arya Stark :
• Sansa Stark :

Notes

• Westeros was created by George R. R. Martin where he featured in the setting of the A Song of Ice and Fire universe.

Appearances

• A Song of Ice and Fire:

External Links

• A Song of Ice and Fire Wiki Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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